Gas-burner cleaner.



H. VAN HOEVENBERG.

GAS BURNER GLEANER.

APPLICATION FILED ulm, 1913 1 1 1 2, 1 76. Patented sept. 29, 1914.

Z Mmm/Ey 1HE NORRIS PETERS CO..PH01U-Llrho.. WASHINGTUN4 n. f..

minished UNITED sTATEs vPATENT OFFICE.

HENEY VAN HOEVENEEEG, or NOETHELBA. NEW YORK.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HENRY VAN HoEvEN.` BERG, a citizen of the UnitedStates, "and a resident of North Elba, in the county of Essex and Stateof New York, have invent-` ed certainnew and useful Improvements inGas-Burner Cleaners, of 'which the following is a specification. i i iThis invention relates to a -gas burner cleaner and more especially to atype of use in connection with acetylene gas burners.

It is a well known fact that the outlet openings in acetylene burnersare `so very small that they become frequently clogged with smallparticles such as carbon, soot orv` dust and so shut ofi' a portion ofthe gas or at least deflect the flame from its true course, so that theefficiency and illuminating power or brilliancy of the light is di- Itis, therefore, necessary to clean out these pinhole openings from timeto time. Inasmuch as these gas outlets are generally not greater thanone-hundredth of an inch in size, great diiiiculty is found in insertingthe cleaningpoint which must be as fine as a needle into the opening,especially if it is attempted in the dark, as when the flame becomesclogged in thefevening and it is necessary to put out perhaps the.

sole light and remove the obstruction. It is therefore an object of myinvention to provide a burner cleaner which will readily guide acleaning needle to a position in register with the pinhole outlet of aburner by cooperating with the burner itself. To accomplish this andfurther objects, advantage is taken of the form. of most burners inhaving supplementary openings of graded magnitude leading to the pinholeoutlet opening.v The cleaning instrument is provided with a guide formedto fitsnugly in these supplementary openings or sockets and thus bringthe cleaning needle in accurate register with the pinhole opening -it-`self. This guide, moreover, acts as a pro,- tector or guard for theslender cleaning needle itself, so that a furtherobject isk accomplishedof having the delicate needle at no time exposed to danger of being bentor broken. That is to say, the guard and guide is floatingly mounted andnormally held by a spring in a position covering and protecting theneedle but capable of yielding on pressure so that the needle can passout through an opening therein and through the pinhole gas opening. l

das E111-tirarev CLEANER.

Specincation of Letters latent. Application inea April 7, 1913.

` Patented sept. 29, 1914. Serial No. 759,383.

The guard can `be locked into protecting position' so that the needlecannot be protruded. The guard can also be entirely detached for anypurpose such as to `replace the needle, clean the instrument itself, orreplace 'any guide by another adapted to fit other styles of burners.

The eleaner'is made in a handy forml` so that it can be readilymanipulated and also so that it can be carried about `in the pocket likea pencil. Itis further made sectional, so that itcan be minimized to asizesmall enoughto be carried in a small `vest-pocket. Further featuresand advantageswill be more fully described hereinafter and moreparticularly pointed out inthe claims.

`Referring to the drawings, Figure/1 is `an enlarged view showing thedevice in use, with parts broken away to show the underlying structure.In this view, the cleaning needle,fhowever, is shown in its retractedposition just before it is projected through the guardto clean thepinhole aperture of f thev burner. Fig. 2 is a view similar to Fig.

l, with the exception that pressure has been applied to the instrumentand thereby eX- truded the needle so that it has passed throughthepinhole passage of the burner.

Fig. 3 `is a contracted assembled` viewof the device as a whole, showingit connected in position to 4carry about inthe pocket as a pencil wouldbe. Fig. 4 is an enlarged detail view partly in section showing theconnection of the needle to the supporting or chuck rod.` Fig. 5 is adetail View showing the relation ofthe guard and guide to the holderwith the locking detent `in apposition lto the free-way groove so Athatthe needle can be yextruded from a position within the guard to aposition outside the-guard. Fig.

:6 1s a'view similar to'Fig. 5 with the eXception that the lockingdetenthas been moved over inposition to the detaching groove, so that theguard can be bodily taken away from the holder. Fig. 7 is "a viewsimilar to Figs. 5 and 6, with the exception that the detent is shown inits locking position wherein the guard Vis prevented absolutely frombeing accidentally detached from the holder. f 'i Referring moreparticularly to the separate parts of this invention as embodied in theform shown `inthefigures, l indicates `an acetylene burner of thel usualtype in ywhich opposed jets aredirected to meet each other, so as toHare out or spread to form a thin, Wide iiame. n such burners, there isusually provided a pin-hole passage or opening 2, through Which a thinstream of what larger passage orsocket 4t, which in` turn lets into astill larger passage or socket 5. These passages or sockets 4 and 5 may'be provided with suitable air holes 61l to permit the air to come invand mix With the stream of as it passes fromf the burner into,y the air.

Advantage; is taken `of tre peculiar shape of they burner in guiding theinstrument to a position such that it may beY readily and properlyoperated. Concerning the details of' the instrument, it includes:holderI 6 Which isv shown in the form of a cylindrical body opened at`one end and provided With a socket in, Whichl is seated ai chuckk orsupportingl rod 82. This rod 8 maybe pro-vided With a slot or socket. 9/in Which can be secured a slender cleaning need-le 10, by any theinstrument when the flame is actually burning, it can be renewed byremoving the cotter pin' 11 and inserti-ng a new one in place thereof..The needle l0 is not normally-allowed to freely project in open space asthis Would render it liable to be broken. Besides, it is desired toprovide guiding mea-ns to direct the needle'properly so that-it willyimmediately enter the pinhole gas outlet 2 When it isdesired to use theinstrument. Forthis purpose, there is provided .a combined guard andguide 12 which is shown cylindrical in form and of such magnitude to litsnugly Within the .holder 6, so that it can slide freely back and forthin this holder.y The guard 12 is provided With a central passage 13'-,so that during its sliding motion, it will allow for a relative movementbetween the chuck rod and itself, that is to say, the guard 12 can moveWithin the holder 6 yand over the chuck rod 8. It is also essential thata'passage 14 be provided for. the needle 10j so that it may be extrudedfromthe guard l2 When the guard is forced Within the holder. Thispassage 14 is. but little larger than the needle 10, so that itv Wil-lform a ksupporting surface for the needle and guideit` properly in itspassage from the guard tothe pinhole opening `2 and through the same.The guard 12 is normally held in its outer position and' thus in acovering orprotecting position for the. needle 10 by a spring'15 whichis located betwee-n the end of the guard 12 and the bottom of the`hol-'der 6.v rlhis then forms a yielding support, so that the guard 12may Ato the pinhole opening 2. this, the guard 12 is formed with areduced be said to be fioatingly mounted in the Y holder G. The outerextremity of the guard 12 is soV formed that it will coperate with thesockets l and 5 of the burner to guide vthe instrument as a Whole andmore particularly the needle 10 to a position such that the needle 10Will extend in apposition To accomplish nib 16 Which almost exactly fitsthe socket or opening 4l and is of sulicient length to bringv the needleclose up to the pinhole opening 2 when the guard is; properly seatedinthe sockets 4t and 5. It will be noted that at least that portion ofthe guard 12 which extends into. the socket 5 is of an external diameterequal to the external diameter of.

, in order to properly insert the needle 10 in L the act of cleanin lnorder that the device may be conveniently handled, it may be dej sirableto have the same of considerable length say for example, the length of aaencil. For this ur aose there ma f be `htted onto the holder 6, a union18, which,

however, is not so tightly fitted but that it can be forcibly removed.The union 1S may be reduced at both ends to enable an extension cap 19to be fitted on in either one of two. positions.

In the 'position shown in Figs. 1 and 2, the extension cap 19 forms ahandle so as to prolong the instrument, enabling it to be convenientlymanipulated. This handle or cover can also be used as a container forvarious sizes and shapes of guides or protectors, as it would not bepossible to shape one Vguide that would lit every style of burner. Inthe position shown in Fig. 3, the extension 19 is used as a cap orcover, shortening the device as a vvhole and enabling itto be readilyinserted in the pocket. The intermediate large portion 2O of the union1S may be knurled, so that it can be readily held to enable the removalof the cap 19, and so that it itself can be removed from the -holder G.lf it is desired, both the union 1S and the cap 19 may be entirelydetached from the holder, so that the device Will be sufficiently small,so that it can be placed in a small vcst-pockct. ln such an event or inany case, it may be desiredv to prevent` the extrusion of the needlewhen it is not desired to use the instrument. For

this purpose, a locking detent 20 isvprovided on the holder G and may beof any suitable form. extend in freeway gooves which 'permit certainpredetermined movements` of the guard 12 and the holder 6 relative toeach other. That is to say, when the detent 20 is in opposition to anoperating groove' 21., the guard and holder may have a relativelongitudinal movement 4such that `the de-v tent 2O passes into thegroove21, and so that latter groove communicates With the groove 22 andextends ed' the inner end of the guard 12, so that the guard can bereadily detached from the holder 6 to enable the instrument to becleaned ora nevv needle inserted in the holden! There may be provided aslight ridge 2d between the detach# ing groove 23 and the operatinggroove 21 in the locking groove 22 so as to prevent the accidentaldisengagement of the guard from the holder and requiring an actualvforcing ot the detent to a position in regis-` ter With thedetachinggroove`23.

In using the device, the cap 19 is removed from the position shown in Fig. Sand attaclied to the union in the positions shown in Figs. 1 and 2to t'orm an extension there-` for. rIhe guard and guide l2 istheninserted in the sockets l and 5 of the burner 1 until properly seated,when a slight-pressure is placed upon the device, so that the guard 12remains stationary While the needle l0 proceeds farther until it hasbeen extruded from the guard and passes through` the pinhole gas passage2, removing any dirt or obstruction that may be found therein. l/Vhenpressure is removed, the spring 15 will naturally cause the guard 12 toonce more ccme out from Within the holder (i, permitting the needle 10to recede Within the guard, protecting it from any danger of beine' bentor broken. The passage 14 of the guard is so small moreover, that it mayact to clean the accumulative dirt from the needle as it recedes intothe guard. It Will thus be seen that there is provided an eX- tremelysimple and eiiicient device Which can be readily manipulated to clean aburner even in the dark and which is protec/ted at all times frominjury.` It Will further be seen that the cleaner can be carrlhisdetenty is arranged to` "tion that said needle Willbe `ried in amore orless' compact form so as to suit the convenience of the user.`

lVhile I have ,shovvnv one embodiment of 1n`y'invention,I do' notwish tobe limited to the specific details thereof, but desire to 'be protectedin various-changes, alterations and modifications which may come Withinthe scope of theajppended claims.,` Having thus described my invention,I claiml. Ina burner cleaner, the combination with a cleaning needle, ofa holder `for said needle, and a combined guard and guide for saidneedle actingvto guide the needle to a position to be used andnormallyinclosing and covering said needle, `said guard and said `needle havinga relative movement in the act ot` usii'igsaid needle to permit theprotruding oiy Saiduneedlefduring acleaning operation. y

2. In a burner .1 cleaner, the combination With a cleaning needle`4ofaholder for said needle, and a guarding means for inclosing andprotecting said needle at all times exi cept when' said needle protrudesWhile actually cleaning, said guard stopping by engagement With theburner being cleaned while said needle moves in through the outlet ofthe burner. l l

In a burner cleaner, the combination with a cleaning needle, of a holderfor said needle, a guard for said needle, said guard and said holderhavinga relative movement, and` a spring interposed between said guardand said holder said guard and said holder in such a position that saidneedle Will be covered and protected by said guard.`

.LIn a burner cleaner, the combination with acleaning needle, of aholderfor said needle, a guardiior said needle, said guard and said holderhaving a relative movement, a spring interposed between said guard andsaid holder `normally holding said guard and said holder in such aposi-` covered and protected by said guard, and a detent for preventinga relative ,movement between said guard andsaid holder.

` 5. In a burner cleaner, the combination with a cleaning needle, of aholder for said needle, a guard for said needle normally protecting saidneedle, and a detent for preventing a relative movement between saidguard and said needle.

6.` In a burner cleaner, the combination With a cleaning needle, ot aholder for said needle, a guard for said needle, said guard having' itsfront outer end formed to afford guiding means cooperating with theinternal passages of a burner to bring said needle in opposition to thepinhole gas outlet of said burner.

`7. In a burner cleaner adapted to clean a i burner having steppedpassages or sockets normally holding to determine the position oli saidneedle with respeet; to said burner-, the corners. of said steps. uponsaid guidingv Vrmeans being beveled to, permit ,thel read-y insertion ofsaid; guiding meansl intO Said sockets in said A. burner.

.9.. In a burner cleaner, the combination with a cleaning needle, of aehuol; for sup-y ,.ortmg said' need-le, a, guard for said needle avingla passage tol permit; a relative move.

, mentloetween said' ehuelr and said guard and also a passage to permitthe extrusion of said needle, from said guard, said passages fittingsaid ehuek said needle snugly.

l0. In a burner cleaner, the. combination with a Cleaning needle, of aholder for said needle, a union detaohabl'y Conneeted to said holderbeingy reduced at both ends, and a o ap formed to snugly fit either endof said union so as te. either form an extension for'l yseid holder orform a` cover for said needle.

y l1. 'In a burner cleaner, the combination with a cleaning needle, ofaholder for said needle, a guard for saidneedle, said guard having anoperating groove and a locking groove, and a detentori said holderarranged to. engage either one4 of said grooves to respectively permit.a relative movement of said guard and said holder or look said guard andsaid holder against relative movement'.

lf2. ln a. burner Cleaner, the combination with aA Cleaning needle, oia. holder for said needle, a, guard 'for said needle, said guard havinga looking groove therein and a detaehing g oove therein, and a detent onsaid holder arranged to engage said locking groove or said detaohinggroove to respectively prevent said guard from being detached from saidholder or permit said guard to be detached from said holder.

13.111 a burner cleaner, the combination with` a cleaning needle, oit aholder ior said needle, a guard iior said needle, said guard havingfree-way grooves therein., and a detent on said holder engaging said.grooves to determine the movement of said groove relative to saidholder. l 14. In a burner cleaner, the combination l with a cleaningneedle, oi a holder for said i cleaning needle, a chuck rod mounted insaid lholder and arranged to detaohably support l said needle, a guardfor said needle slidingly i mountedv between said holder and said chuckrod', and a spring interposed between said guard and said holdernormally maintaining said guard in a position Covering said needle.

l5. In a burner Cleaner, the Combination with a Cleaning needle, of aholder for said cleaning needle, a chuck rod mounted in said holder andarranged to detaohably support said needle, a guard for said needleslidingl)7 mounted between said holder and said chuck rod, a springinterposed between said guard and said holder normallT maintaining saidguard in a position covering said needle, and a detent for determiningthe movements between said rod and said holder.

Signed at North Elba, in the county of Essex, and C@tate of New York,this third day or" April, 1913.

HENRY vAN HOEVENBERG.

Witnesses FRANK REGAN,

O. L. CoLBURN.

Copies of this patent may be obtained 4for :live cents each,byvaddressng the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. C.

